30 November 2016: Participants at the Sustainability Summit for Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean, which addressed the theme ‘Adapt or die?,’ discussed the world’s prospects for ending poverty, protecting the planet and achieving prosperity for all through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Summit also considered progress towards the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the integration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into the European Union’s (EU) priorities. It took place in Athens, Greece, on 30 November 2016, as part of The Economist’s ‘Adapt or Die?’ Conference series.
Addressing the conference, UN Environment Programme (UNEP, or UN Environment) Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw stressed that, “for growth to be sustainable we must decouple it from the growth in carbon emissions and the runaway depletion of natural resources.” He highlighted findings from a McKinsey report that finds that to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change and maintain economic growth above three percent, there must be a “tenfold increase in the amount of GDP produced for each unit of carbon emissions.” Thiaw argued that a transition to a circular economy combined with government action, private sector investment and innovative technology can help to achieve these goals.
Summit participants also discussed, inter alia: progress towards the SDGs and the Paris Agreement goals; opportunities for the private sector to contribute to achieving the SDGs; the role of business, financial institutions and investors in sustainable development; democratization of data and the role of real-time models; and the debt crisis and sustainability.
On the role of the private sector, participants recognized the potential of business to deliver both incremental improvements and disruptive changes that offer potential for transformation. Thiaw shared examples of how business have investing in innovation, used resources efficiently and cut waste while increasing their sales, revenue and profit, underscoring the potential of good business opportunities to deliver good environmental benefits. [UNEP Deputy Executive Director Speech] [Summit Website]